AUSTRAILIA: ASIC releases revised guidance on Custody

Friday November 22 2013

ASIC has released revised guidance on the custody of assets and standards to be met by asset holders.

The revised guidance in Regulatory Guide 133, renamed Managed investments and custodial or depository services: Holding assets (RG 133), and class orders, updates existing measures to:

apply minimum standards to asset holders for managed investment schemes and holders of financial products, and affects responsible entities, licensed custodians, platform operators and managed discretionary account operatorsensure agreements with asset holders have certain minimum terms, andrequire primary production scheme responsible entities to safeguard the land on which the scheme operates.

ASIC has also updated Regulatory Guide 166 Licensing: Financial requirements (RG 166) to accommodate industry practice of custody of certain assets like derivatives and certain bank accounts and private equity interests when these are held by a responsible entity of a managed investment scheme where existing financial resource requirements would not otherwise allow this.

Click on the above link for more details.